Exposed
by Earthling
Summary: There seems to be no hope for Jack, Sam and Teal'c. Will another O'Neill be able to help them? Finnished!
1. Default Chapter

Exposed  
  
This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Stargate SG-1 no mine......no money, no sue, please?  
  
Daniel looked up from his papers at the sound of a knock on his front door. He put his cup of coffee down and went to answer it.  
Jackie was reading from an open three ring binder, the pages littered with four different forms of writing.  
"I need help" She looked up with an expression blending confusion, annoyance and exasperation. Daniel couldn't help but smile with amusement. She rolled her eyes at him and he moved so she could come in. She handed him the notebook on the coffee table and flopped on the couch.  
"My head hurts" she moaned. Daniel smiled again and joined her.  
"You graduate in two weeks" he pointed out.  
"I know. It's just finals. Professor Quibble gave us this stupid code to decrypt and it was really hard and now I can't translate it" She rubbed the heels of her hands in her eyes in frustration.  
"Let me see" Daniel said. She flipped to a different page so he could see the original decryption. He studied it for a moment and then flipped through some of her other pages.  
"This is Greek" he told her and got up to get one of his own reference books. He returned to the couch and spread her notes over his own. The message wasn't long. Still, by the time he'd finished Jackie was playing with a couple of his artifacts. She reminded him so much of Jack sometimes it was almost scary.  
"Here" Daniel called her over. She took the notebook and read what he'd translated, and then gave him a questioning look.  
"Cursed to destroy themselves, the bearers of snakes" she read, and wiggled her eyebrows, "Snakes, huh?"  
"Yes, I noticed that too. Did your professor say where he got this?" he asked.  
"Oh, some manuscript that's been in his family like, forever, or something" Jackie answered, "Do you think it's talking about the goa'uld?"  
"It's possible. I'll do some research, see what I can find. Don't worry too much about it. It's probably nothing"  
"So says Daniel. I'm glad you guys are home for a while" she exclaimed.  
"Why's that?" Daniel asked with another smile, "You need us to take an exam for you?"  
"Everyone except Jack" she laughed, "He's just as dumb as me" "Maybe dumber" Daniel joked. Jackie gave him a mildly reproachful look and then tilted to her head. "Sometimes it just feels like I never get to see you guys" she admitted, "Half the time you're off planet, and half the time you're home you just stay at the base anyway. And I'm not allowed on base unless I'm coming in for a medical check up or for Sam to run some more tests" Daniel nodded at her chest.  
"Yes, I noticed you still had it on" Jackie frowned and fingered the oval stone that perpetually hung from her neck.  
"Sam's tried a hundred million different ways to get it off" she said, "The other day when I went in she decided it wasn't coming off, short of a blow torch"  
"Has it done anything...at all?" he asked.  
"Nope. Sometimes when I'm thinking about it a lot it glows, but that's about it. Guess I just haven't had the need to use it"  
"Well we can all be thankful for that" Daniel said. Jackie smiled and nodded. He considered her profile for a moment. She was such a strange mixture of Jack and...well, himself. She always had a joke on her tongue, a flippant remark or inane observation to make. But on the other hand, she could debate about the most academic, metaphysical subject he could come up with and hold her own against him with clarity and serious insight. Sometimes when he expected her to say something completely Jack like, she would instead say something that would stun him into silence. It had been just a couple weeks ago when she'd shown up at his door with two giant plants, one in each arm, the fronds hiding her entire head. She tried several different arrangements until she'd found the one she liked, Daniel just standing around watching as she shifted his things about.  
"And why exactly do I need these?" Daniel had asked.  
"Daniel, you're surrounded by books and ancient artifacts" she'd answered, playing with one of the plants, "The mind may be able to live on words and history, but the soul needs life" It was one of those moments that he could only look at her. She'd abruptly turned and smiled at him with one of those flippant smiles that so resembled her older brother's.  
"Besides, they're pretty" Daniel could only smile. He found himself smiling a lot when she was around.  
"So have you gone to see Jack yet?" he asked, reaching for his coffee. Jackie rolled her eyes again.  
"Are you kidding? He was on my door step like the minute you guys got put on stand down. You're sure he doesn't have some kind of planet side wormhole he uses to get around?" Daniel chuckled. It did seem that Jack spent every minute of his stand down time with his sister, if he could.  
"He just worries about you" he said. He had to bite his tongue then, because he almost went on to add, "So do I." It had been mere chance that Jackie had found an apartment in his building, a floor below his. Jack had liked the idea that there was someone from the SGC close at hand, in case she ever needed anything.  
"Or in case that thing around her neck ever decides to go ballistic" Jack had muttered the day they had moved her in.  
"I know he does" Jackie admitted, "And truthfully, I don't mind. Actually, I love it. It's great to have him around so much" Daniel knew that her childhood had been spotted with only the occasional visit from her older brother, and that those had been the only truly happy times in her young life. Like her older brother, however, she did not like to discuss the more difficult times in her life. "I miss you guys a lot when you're gone" She said this last quietly and Daniel wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to take that. He wanted to ask her, but he didn't. It wasn't ground he thought he was prepared to explore just yet.  
"Well, I guess I should go. Still got some more homework to do" she said, picking her notebook up and walking slowly toward the door.  
Daniel asked as he followed her, resisting the urge to put his hand on her back. She opened the door and stepped into the hall.  
"You goin' out tonight?"she asked. Jack had mandated that they all have some "fun" while they were on Earth and off work for a bit. Which meant dragging Sam away from her lab and Daniel out of his apartment to some bar or club for dinner and drinks, maybe a movie. They liked going to the sci-fi flicks, making fun of them the entire time. Lately Jackie had been joining their soirees, mostly because Jack hated leaving her at home by herself and she hated staying at home by herself.  
"I'll be there" Daniel answered with a slight nod.  
"Good" Jackie replied. She stood there for a moment. Their eyes met and Daniel found that he couldn't tear his eyes away. It was on the verge of becoming a "moment" when she suddenly gave him one of her gay smiles and bounced away down the hall toward the stairs and her own apartment. He sighed deeply and closed the door.  
  
Downstairs, Jackie slipped the key into the lock and opened her door. She dropped keys and notebook onto her side table and moved toward the kitchen. A blurry figure in her peripheral vision had her spinning around, her hands up and ready to defend herself. The necklace glowed briefly.  
Jack finished stuffing the rest of the donut he'd been scarffing into his mouth. Jackie lowered her hands and opened the fridge to pull out a carton of juice, reaching up to grab a glass at the same time.  
"For cryin' out loud, Jack, you scared me half to death" she said with some semblance of annoyance. Jack swallowed his donut and took the offered glass of juice.  
"Where were you?" he asked, "I thought you said you were working on some project for your finals" He hounded her about her schoolwork. Not that he needed to, Jackie was happy to do her work. She had even done extra research on her own to catch up on what she'd missed. They'd had to completely fake all her school records to get her into the right level of classes, a chore General Hammond had helped with.  
"I was up at Daniel's" she answered simply. He gave her an "Oh, really" look.  
"Oh, really?" he asked.  
"I needed help with a translation" she told him.  
"You know, you spend an awful lot of time up there" Jack said, putting his empty glass in her sink. She frowned at him.  
"I do not" she denied. She started collecting her various notebooks and texts that were spread out on the counter, trying to avoid his gaze. He recognized the tactic for what it was, but he did nothing about it. In the past, perhaps he would have pressed her, but he'd learned from that mistake. He had to accept that she was an adult, though he tended to huff about it, and that she could conduct her own affairs competently. The thought of an "affair" had him reconsidering but he shoved the thought away. No way. Daniel and Jackie? That was as unlikely as...salt and pepper, peas and carrots, moon and sun.  
Damn.  
Still, Daniel wouldn't do that to him, his best friend, bosom buddy. What would he see in a 20 year old girl anyway? Okay, so she was really closer to the archeologist's age than to 20, and she was beautiful, and smart, and funny (a welcome inheritance from her older brother) and "in the know" about the Stargate, which was appealing, but what else was there?  
Maybe he should have a talk with his friend.  
"He's coming tonight, right?" the plotting older brother asked.  
"Yes" his little sister answered. She stopped and looked back at him, suspicion clearly evident on her face. He gave her a little smile, hiding his own thoughts away.  
"Good" 


	2. Dr Quibble's Code

Exposed  
  
This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Stargate SG-1 no mine......no money, no sue, please?

AN: Sorry it took so long to update, but here it is!  
  
"I don't know why we go to see that stuff" Sam said, shaking her head.  
"It's fun, Carter" Jack explained, "I know fun is a difficult concept for you to understand, but it is what normal human beings do" Teal'c lifted an eyebrow and Sam just smiled. She was used to his mild jabs at her off duty entertainments by now. They'd gone to see the newest sci-fi flick, a sore disappointment to them all, except Jackie who had been fascinated by the special effects. They'd then retreated to a restaurant slash bar called P.J.'s. It was an "atmospheric" establishment with nice little secluded corner tables and dim lighting.  
"Hey, where'd Daniel go?" Sam suddenly asked, looking around for their friend.  
"Daniel Jackson and Jackie O'Neill are playing darts in the corner" Teal'c answered, nodding to their right. Sam and Jack diverted their attention to the dart board, half hidden in shadows. It was far enough away that they couldn't quite make out what the two were saying, but Jackie's laughter was easily discernable. Daniel was teaching her how to throw darts. When Daniel turned his head they could all see he had a broad grin upon his face as well.  
Sam sipped her beer. Teal'c tilted his head. Jack took a seat on the bar stool.  
"What's up with that?" Sam asked him. He shrugged.  
"Don't know" he answered.  
  
The next day, Jack considered Daniel from across the table in the briefing room. General Hammond had called them in the night before, surprising them all. He had been the one to insist that they take some time off.  
"I'm sorry to have to cut your time off short, but we've just received some information that I thought might require SG-1's particular talents" he told them all as he joined them from his office.  
"What's that, sir?" Jack asked, "A house drop on the wicked witch of the west?" The General ignored his comment, as had become his habit, and passed out the files he was holding.  
"This jar was found at a dig in Greece" he started to explain, "The archeologist that found it didn't know what to make of it. He sent it to the London Museum for study. They determined that it was made of some kind of metal not found on Earth"  
"Naquida" Carter said immediately.  
"Yes, Major" Hammond nodded, "The jar has since been stolen, by whom we don't know"  
"Who's this archeologist guy?" Jack asked. He hadn't even bothered to flip past the picture of the jar. They'd had to deal with jars before. The last one loosed the Goa'uld Osiris on the universe.  
"His name was Bartholomew..."  
"Carright" Daniel interrupted, "I know him. Well, I knew him. He was on a dig in Egypt that I went on as a student"  
"Do you believe that he could be the culprit, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.  
"The Bart Carright I remember was a shy, quiet man. I couldn't imagine him stealing a match, let alone a valuable artifact from a large and well guarded museum" Daniel answered.  
"Another Goa'uld?" Carter suggested.  
"It's a distinct possibility, Major" Hammond replied, "That's why I'm ordering SG-1 to Idaho"  
"Idaho, sir?" Jack repeated.  
"Yes. That's where Dr. Carright lives, or lived, at any rate. It's a place to start the investigation" the General elaborated.  
"Wouldn't London be a more likely place to start the investigation, sir?" Carter inquired.  
"Unfortunately, that's not possible at the moment, Major Carter" the General didn't explain anymore about it. They were about to adjourn when Daniel suddenly recognized something.  
"I've seen this before" he said. Carter lowered back into her chair and Jack cocked his head to the side.  
"Hmmm?" he said. Daniel looked up from the photograph he was studying. It was a close up of the markings engraved on the jar.  
"The people at the London Museum said it was a mixture of four different ancient languages. They said it was gibberish, probably just mere decoration."  
"No, no it's not" Daniel said. He was still engrossed with the photo.  
  
"Where have you seen this before, Doctor?" Hammond was forced to inquire.  
"Jackie" Daniel said, tearing himself away from the photo, "Jackie was working on a project one of her professors gave her. She decoded it and needed some help translating the message."  
"You mean this is in some sort of code?" Hammond asked, "And the Colonel's sister decrypted it?"  
"Yes" Daniel nodded.  
"Go Jackie" Jack said. Everybody ignored him.  
"What did it say, Daniel?" Sam asked.  
"Cursed to destroy themselves, the bearers of snakes" he answered, "I asked her where her professor had gotten it, and she said it was from some kind of manuscript that had been in family for generations. I was going to do some research."  
"Colonel, we need your sister in here" Hammond said.  
"Uh, she'll be in class just now, sir" Jack told him.  
"Which class?" Daniel asked.  
"Quibble class?" Jack replied with a shrug.  
"That's the professor that gave Jackie the code" Daniel reported.  
"Colonel" was all Hammond had to say.  
"We'll...go pick her up from school, sir" Jack answered.  
  
Jackie was just leaving class when they found her. There was a sea of college students pouring out of the room and down the hallway, hindering their passage.  
"Jackie!" Daniel ended up calling to catch her attention before she turned the other way.  
"Daniel!" A bright smile lit up her face as she recognized who had called her name, "Jack!" A somewhat less bright smile, "Sam" and now a confused look, "Teal'c" And she finished it up with a worried expression, "What're you guys doing here?" she asked slowly.  
"Actually, we were hoping to get word with Professor Quibble." Daniel told her, "Is he still in there?"  
"Yeah" Jackie answered, "But, why do you guys want to talk to Dr. Quibble?" she asked, "What happened?"  
"Something about some code" Jack said, "We'll tell you later, c'mon" He pushed her toward the room she'd just exited. It was a bright room, looking as if it had just been refurbished with all kinds of new gadgets, carpeting and desks. An older man stood at the front of the room, stuffing a couple of books and stacks of loose leaf paper into his satchel. He used to be tall, but was somewhat hunched now. He had tufts of white hair sticking out at odd angles and a pair of what looked like antique spectacles on his nose. He was dressed in a three piece tweed suit.  
"Dr. Quibble?" Jackie said loudly, startling the poor man. He turned and squinted at them.  
"Ms. O'Neill?" the Professor acknowledged her.  
"Uh, this is my older brother, Jack" Jackie said.  
"Imaginative parents you must have had" the Professor replied in a crusty voice. He waited for them to get closer before giving Jack a good up and down look.  
"Hmm. Much older brother I'd say" He gave Jackie a look, "Not much family resemblance either" Jack and Jackie exchanged a look. They'd never looked much alike, Jackie having inherited their mother's round face and height, Jack being an almost exact replica of their father.  
"Hmm...Mr. O'Neill" Quibble held his hand out and Jack shook it, "A pleasure to meet you"  
"Colonel, actually" Jack corrected him, feeling the need to say something to impress the old man.  
"Colonel, really? Hmmm...how interesting. You know, young Ms. O'Neill here may be the finest student I've seen pass through one of my classes. Do you know she's broken every single code I've thrown at her?"  
"Well, that's good to hear" Jack replied, "These are my colleagues, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Dr. Samantha Carter, and...Murray." He chose to use Sam's civilian title in light of the reaction he'd gotten from his own. Maybe two doctors would impress him more than a military rank.  
"Dr's Jackson and Carter?" Quibble pushed his spectacles up on his nose, "Doctors of what, might I ask?"  
"Uh, I have a doctorate in archeology" Daniel replied.  
"Astrophysics" Sam added.  
"Hmm...interesting. I must say, you keep in good company, Ms. O'Neill" Quibble nodded at the young woman.  
"Now, what may I help you with, young people?" the old man asked, moving around to the other side of his desk and taking a seat.  
"Actually, we've come to ask about an assignment you gave Jackie" Daniel told him. This was his type of jungle and Jack let him take the lead.  
"An assignment you say?" Quibble responded.  
"Our final project, Doctor" Jackie provided.  
"Ah, yes. I've been giving that particular code to my students for years" Quibble answered, "No one has of yet broken it. I'm sorry to say that I myself have been unsuccessful, even after all of this time"  
"Is that so?" Daniel looked surprised and confused. Jackie looked somewhat embarrassed.  
"Ah. Well, then, you'll be wanting to give my little sister an A" Jack commented. Quibble looked up quickly.  
"What? Are you saying that she's broken it?" he asked excitedly.  
"Yes" Daniel answered slowly. Quibble stood up, pulling the spectacles from his face.  
"Where? Where is it?" he asked, abandoning his desk and rushing toward Jackie.  
"Uh, I have it here" Jackie replied, digging around in her backpack and pulling out the three ring binder. She handed it to the professor and he flipped through the many pages she'd scribbled across until he found the final translation.  
"'Cursed to destroy themselves, the bearer's of snakes.' Ah, a curse!" he exclaimed, "But I don't understand. No, no, this makes no sense" He took the notebook back to his desk and sat down again.  
"What do you mean?" Sam asked as they all crowded around the desk.  
"Hmm...interesting. Why would someone want to put a curse in code, eh, young Doctor? Usually, a curse is engraved to warn off potential saboteurs"  
  
"That's true" Daniel agreed.  
"I cannot believe that you have done this, Ms. O'Neill. You are indeed the best cryptologist I have ever seen, indeed, that I have ever heard of. No one that has ever seen this has ever been able to crack it." He pulled Teal'c toward him and pointed to the photocopy that he had provided all of his students, a photocopy of the original code.  
"You see here, there are four distinct forms here. This is the Greek, and this the Egyptian, and this, this is Sumerian cuneiform. But these other markings, I don't know these. They seem to simply be superfluous, a distraction from the rest of the puzzle" Teal'c merely lifted a brow at the old professor. Daniel was reading over the man's shoulder and immediately recognized the "distraction" symbols as a dilution of the Ferling language. He refrained from commenting, however.  
"Doctor, Jackie mentioned that you got the code from an old manuscript, a family heirloom of some sort" Sam said. Quibble looked up at her. He'd quite forgotten that the rest of the group was there.  
"Ah, yes, yes!" He pulled his satchel toward himself and pulled out an old book. It looked as if it should really be kept in some kind of museum or antique store. It was leather bound, and the only adorning feature was a large David's star emblazoned on the front. He flipped the cover back and riffled through the delicate pages until he found the one he was looking for. He then lifted the book and handed it gently to Daniel, trusting the archeologist would have the proper concern for its handling. Daniel read the page carefully before handing it back.  
"That's very interesting" he commented.  
"Hmm...yes, it is, isn't it?" Quibble agreed.  
"Doctor, do you have any idea where your family got this?" Sam asked, having pulled the book to herself to give it a look.  
"No idea, I'm afraid. It has been in the family library since before my grandfather's grandfather" the Professor answered.  
"Any chance we can borrow this thing?" Jack asked, touching one of the pages while Carter looked it over. Quibble suddenly grew very quiet and rose nobly from his chair. He rounded the desk and flipped the book shut. He seemed to be deliberating for a moment. Then he lifted it and held it out toward Jackie. She slid a look at her brother, who only shrugged.  
"Take it, child, take it!" Quibble ordered. Jackie quickly accepted the book.  
"You may keep it, my dear" the old professor told her. Jackie's eyes widened.  
"But, sir, I couldn't..."  
"Nonsense. That book has been in my family for eons. None of the Quibbles have ever been able to decipher its secrets. I have no children to pass it on to. I want you, the girl who finally broke its code, to have it" he told her with an air of nobility and honor bound duty.  
"Thank you, Professor." Jackie said. The old man shed the cloak he'd donned and turned back to Daniel.  
"Now, out with you, out with you. You've no doubt important business to be about. Jackie, I'll not expect you next class. Hmm...there's nothing I could teach you now"


	3. More Than Meets The Eye

Exposed This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Stargate SG-1 no mine......no money, no sue, please?  
  
"So you're telling me the only reason I broke that code was because...I'm the freaking Ferling Rosetta Stone?" Jackie exclaimed quietly as they started up the short walk to Bart Carright's house. No one was quite sure why she had been included in the sojourn, except that there was always "in case."  
"No" Daniel replied immediately, "Well, sort of" he amended.  
"Great. So I can count on early retirement then?" Daniel had to hide his smile. They had explained to her what was going on when they'd gone back to the SGC to report to General Hammond. Since they'd not really found any relevant information, he'd sent them straight to Idaho to try and find Bart. None of them were expecting to find much, but Daniel was hoping to at least find some clues as to where the older archeologist might have gone.  
The house was a nondescript, suburban home with a nicely trimmed lawn and some rose bushes near the front door. Jack knocked. They waited but there was no response. The Colonel reached for the knob and found the door locked.  
"Jackie?" he turned to his younger sister. The rest of SG-1 gave him confused looks while Jackie pulled two bobby pins that had been assisting her pony tail out of her hair and moved to the front door.  
"Jackie is a woman of many talents" Jack told his friends.  
"You can pick locks?" Sam asked, sounding mildly impressed. Jackie gave her a mischievous smile. But just as she slipped the first end of the bobby pin into the lock the door suddenly swung open. A man, probably about Jack's age, stood just inside the doorway. His clothes were disheveled and stained. His eyes were red rimmed and blood shot, as if he hadn't slept in days.  
"Who are you?" he demanded loudly, "What do you want?"  
"Uh, hi, Bart" Daniel shoved his way to the front of their little group, "I don't know if you remember me. My name is Daniel Jackson, we were on a dig together, years ago, in Egypt. In the Valley of Kings? I was a student"  
"What do you want?" The man didn't seem to understand anything Daniel had just said.  
"These are friends of mine. Jack, Sam, Murray and Jackie. Can we come in?" Carright gave them wary looks, but moved away from the door. They filed in, one by one, holding their breaths against the stench of rotting food and very dirty laundry. There were no lights on and the blinds were all pulled, so the only light came from the open door behind them. It was enough to see that the house was a mess though.  
Daniel saw it first. The jar everybody was so worried about was sitting on the coffee table. It was the only visible surface not covered with filth. But he didn't have time to say anything about it. As soon as Carright shut the door, he gave a battle cry and jumped on Carter, who had been the last one to come in.  
"Hey!" Jack yelled. Carright was throwing his fists into Carter's sides, forcing her to curl and drop to the ground. Jack and Teal'c were immediately at her side, pulling the crazy man off of her.  
"You've come to kill me!" the archeologist yelled, swinging his fists and trying to get away from the two men, "I won't let you! I won't let you! It's mine, do you hear? It's mine!" His eyes bulged and he started frothing at the mouth. Daniel and Jackie watched on in horror as he continued struggling for a few more minutes, until his eyes rolled back in his head and he went limp. Jack and Teal'c carefully lowered him to the floor. Carter got to her feet and looked down at her attacker.  
"Is he dead?" she asked. Jack checked his pulse.  
"Yeah." He answered and then held his hands up in front of his face with a look of disgust, "Yuck. He's all wet."  
"I noticed" Sam said, fingering the dark spot on her side where Carright had made contact.  
"What happened?" Jackie asked.  
  
Cut to Dr. Fraser back in the briefing room.  
  
"I don't know yet, sir. We're still running tests"  
"What do your initial tests reveal, Doctor?" General Hammond asked. SG-1 had called and had a special unit come and collect the body and the jar and returned to the SGC. Fraser gave them all exams, but had reported them all a-okay.  
"Not much, sir" she reported, "By all appearances, he seems to have suffered from an epileptic seizure. I pulled his medical records though and there is no mention of him ever exuding any symptoms of epilepsy"  
"Why was he wet?" Jack asked.  
"You mentioned that before, Colonel" Fraser said with a small shake of her head, "But I didn't find any traces of moisture on the body, or his clothes"  
"Are you sure about that?" Jack asked. Fraser gave him a surprised look.  
"Well, yes, sir" she answered. Jack gave her a distrusting look but didn't say anything else about it. Jackie frowned. It wasn't like Jack to be so untrusting.  
"How long do you think it will take for you to get your test results, Doctor?" General Hammond asked.  
"It might be a couple of days, sir" Janet answered.  
"All right. Dr. Jackson, Ms. O'Neill, I'd like you to start an analysis of the rest of the engravings on that jar" he ordered.  
"Why do they get to work together?" Jack piped up.  
"Excuse me, Colonel?" Jack looked down at the table. Jackie could tell he was fighting with himself, biting his tongue.  
"Nothing, sir" he muttered.  
"I'd like you all to stay on the base until we've come up with something" the General concluded.  
"Do we have to?" Sam demanded, narrowing her eyes at the General. He hid his surprise and gave her a stern look.  
"Yes, Major, you do" he replied, "Dismissed" Jackie and Daniel exchanged a glance and followed their friends out of the briefing room. Jackie followed her brother down one hallway as the others dispersed towards their own projects.  
"Hey, Jack, wait up" she called as he started to pull ahead of her at a quick rate. He didn't pause and she had to jog to catch up with him.  
"For cryin' out loud, Jack, what is wrong with you?" she cried, trying to match his step as his picked up the pace.  
"There's nothing wrong with me" he answered harshly, "Maybe there's something wrong with you"  
"What are you talking about? I'm not the one that just snapped Dr. Fraser's head off in there" she sighed and changed her tactic, "Come on, big brother. Tell me what's wrong" Jack suddenly stopped and turned to face her.  
"Why are you here anyway?" he demanded callously, "Why don't you go to Daniel? That's where you want to be anyway" Jackie was so shocked she couldn't say anything. She just stood in the hall, stunned, as her brother stalked away. She took a deep breath to try and push away the tightness in her chest that she was aware wanted to turn into tears, and headed toward Daniel's office where he was no doubt already studying the engravings from the jar. The code that Dr. Quibble had given her circled the equator of the jar, but there were other markings above and below it. She hadn't had a chance to look at them yet, and had no idea if it was encoded or not.  
He was pouring himself a cup of coffee when she walked in. The enhanced photos were already spread out over his desk, and there was a spiral notebook ready for her use.  
"Hey" Daniel greeted her as she took a seat on the provided stool.  
"Hi" she replied absently, pulling some of the photos closer to her. She grabbed a pencil and directed her gaze downward, but she wasn't really seeing the markings. Daniel put his mug down and took a step closer.  
"What's the matter?" he asked softly. Jackie shook her head.  
"Nothing" she answered quietly, but he could tell there was something serious bothering her.  
"Tell me" he pleaded. She squeezed her eyes shut and blew out a deep breath.  
"It's just...watching...that poor man die and then...Jack...something Jack said...I just..." She couldn't even complete a full sentence and she looked like she might start crying at any moment. He couldn't help it, she looked so miserable. He pulled her into his embrace, tucking her head under his chin. She leaned into him and he relished in the feel of her body pressed against his, the feel of her back under his hands. He could feel her suck in a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. He wasn't ready when she tilted her chin up and opened her green eyes, looking right up into his. His gaze fell to her lips, and before he knew it he was kissing her. And she was kissing him. Her arms wound up around his neck and he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. A warm feeling flowed out of her mouth, into his and through his entire body.  
"Get off her!" a familiar voice shouted and then Daniel was being knocked to the ground.  
"Jack?" It was all he had time to say before his old friend began pummeling him with his fists. Daniel had known the older man would take it badly, but he hadn't thought he'd take it this badly.  
"Jack! Jack, get off of him!" Jackie was yelling, "Jack, stop it! Jack stop it!" All Daniel could do was try to protect himself from the vicious battering. He could tell Jackie was trying to pull her brother off of him, but she was much smaller and didn't have the strength.  
Two airmen happened to be passing at the same time, however, and heard her desperate screaming. They rushed in and together pulled their superior officer off the young doctor.  
"Let go of me! That's an order, airman!" Jack yelled, but with a look from Daniel the men kept a hold of the Colonel.  
"Jackie, go get the General and Dr. Fraser" Daniel ordered her quietly.  
"You're hurt" she said, stepping towards him.  
"You stay away from her!" Jack yelled, startling her into stopping.  
"I'm fine, just go" 


	4. Breakdown

Exposed This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Stargate SG-1 no mine......no money, no sue, please?  
  
Jackie stared at her brother through the grating in the door. He was pacing between the twin bunk beds, like a caged animal.  
"Doctor, what's going on?" General Hammond asked as he approached with Dr. Fraser. Jackie turned away from the cell and faced them. Daniel glanced at her, a question in his eyes, but it wasn't one she could answer.  
  
"Uh, Jack...attacked me" he told Hammond.  
"What?" Hammond exclaimed.  
"Are you all right?" Fraser asked, concern clear on her face.  
"I'm fine" Daniel answered.  
"When did this happen?" Hammond demanded.  
"Just a few minutes ago" Daniel answered, "Jackie and I were in my office, working on the jar engravings."  
"Why would Colonel O'Neill have attacked you, Doctor?" Hammond wanted to know. Daniel gave Jackie another look. She didn't say anything, she just turned her gaze downward.  
"Jack...He sort of...walked in on us...uh..."  
"I see" Hammond said before Daniel was forced to finish his explanation.  
"I don't know why he did that" Jackie said softly, "I just. I mean, I know he's protective, but..." Hammond didn't say anything and Janet gave the girl a sympathetic smile. They both agreed with her that this was completely uncharacteristic of the Colonel, even an over protective older brother Colonel.  
"How did he get in here, Doctor?" Hammond asked.  
"Uh, that would be Bellows and Jacobson, sir" Daniel answered, "They happened to be passing and came to help" Hammond directed his attention to the two airman standing behind Daniel and Jackie.  
"We didn't want to put him in the brig, sir" Jacobson reported, "He was struggling hard. He sucker punched Bellows and took off. We almost didn't catch him again"  
"Very well" Hammond excused them, "You can return to your posts. Perhaps I had better go have a talk with the Colonel"  
"Sir, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to him" Daniel requested hesitantly. He wasn't sure he really wanted to have a talk with his old friend, especially not now, but he knew it was the right thing to do. Hammond nodded. The guard opened the door and Daniel gave Jackie a quick look before stepping into the dark room. Jack had stopped pacing and was now just standing still, facing the back wall. Daniel heard the door close behind him and took a deep breath.  
"Jack?" The Colonel didn't respond so Daniel took a step closer.  
"Jack, look, I know that this is difficult for you. Believe me, I, we, never meant to hurt you." He paused but Jack showed no reaction at all. His arms were folded across his chest and his feet were planted a foot apart. He just continued to stare at the wall. Daniel walked right up behind him, thinking hard, trying to find the right words.  
"Jack, please, just...listen to me..." And then he made a mistake. In his effort not to say the wrong thing, he closed his eyes. Jack had been waiting for it. He twisted, grabbed the doctor by his jacket and threw him up against the wall. Daniel was so winded he couldn't call out for help.  
"You're trying to kill her!" Jack yelled frantically, "You're trying to kill us both!"  
"What?" Daniel choked. Had his friend gone insane?  
"I know all about your little plan! Well it won't work!" Jack yelled.  
  
"Jack, what are you talking about?" Daniel cried, scared now.  
"You're trying to kill her!" Jack repeated, "Why else would you be trying to get close to her?" He pushed Daniel into the wall even harder and his hand crept up to the other man's throat, applying pressure to his windpipe.  
"You can't kill her if I kill you first" he whispered in a deadly voice, his face so close to Daniel's that their noses touched. Daniel choked, and brought his knee up into Jack's stomach. Jack stumbled back and Daniel gasped for breath, rubbing at his throat.  
"Jack, why would I be trying to kill her!" he cried in frustration.  
"Why else would you be trying to get close to her?" Jack yelled back.  
"Because I love her!" Daniel shouted. Jack stilled. There was a look of confusion and disbelief on his face. Daniel straightened up, getting his breath back.  
"Jack...I love her" He hadn't realized it until Jack had demanded that he provide an answer. He was as much surprised with the announcement as Jack apparently was.  
"I'm sorry, but...I can't help it" He looked directly into his friend's eyes, "I love her" Jack didn't say anything for a moment. And then something in his expression changed.  
"Liar" he growled and lunged at Daniel. He was ready this time though. He ducked and darted around the snarling Colonel.  
"Let me out" he ordered through the grate in the door. The guard was too slow though. By the time he got the door open, the Colonel had Daniel around the chest and was trying to pull him back into the room. It took both the guard and the General to pry the Colonel's strong fingers from his friend and push him back into the room, allowing Daniel to get out.  
Nobody said anything right away. Daniel tried to catch Jackie's eyes, but she was staring past him, a thoughtful look on her face. Had she heard his declaration? He didn't have time to ask. Alarms started going off, alerting them all to some kind of danger.  
"General Hammond to the armory" a voice announced over the P.A.  
"Now what?" Hammond asked of no one and they all hurried to the armory. They found two guards trying to support a sedated Teal'c between them. His staff weapon lie on the ground and there were scorch marks in the walls where he had fired.  
"What's going on here?" Hammond demanded. Sgt. Siler seemed to be organizing things.  
"Sir. I'm not sure what happened. I was passing by when Teal'c just started firing" he reported.  
"Did he say anything?" Hammond asked.  
"No, sir. We had to use tranq guns to stop him" Hammond shook his head.  
"Get him to the infirmary" he ordered and the two guards started dragging him away.  
"What in the world is going on around here?" The General asked and they all turned and followed.  
  
Both Teal'c and Jack were sedated and heavily restrained in their infirmary beds. Guards stood watch at the entrances in the unlikely event that either of them should break free and try to escape. The Colonel had put up quite a fight before Janet had been able to sedate him, screaming about murderers and conspiracies. That had been almost a day ago.  
Sam was just joining them as Fraser brought the appropriate screens up.  
"What're we looking at, Doctor?" Hammond asked.  
"These are blood samples I took from Teal'c and the Colonel" she answered. They all watched in a horrified kind of fascination. There were hundreds of some kind of slimy looking cells writhing around in the blood samples.  
"What are those?" Jackie asked, disgust evident on her face.  
"I don't know" Fraser answered, "They're attached to the naquida cells in their blood streams, and they're multiplying"  
"Do you think these...cells could be responsible for Jack and Teal'c's recent behavior?" Hammond asked.  
"It's possible" Fraser replied, "And likely"  
"Why didn't you catch this before, Doctor?" Hammond wanted to know.  
"I don't know, sir" Fraser admitted, "It's possible the virus hadn't built up to a detectable level until now"  
"Or maybe you just didn't want to find it" Sam suddenly said. Everybody turned to look at her. Her eyes danced from one to the other and back again.  
"If it wasn't there, then it had to be something you gave them" she continued. A look of sudden enlightenment crossed her face.  
"You're trying to kill them!" she exclaimed, "You're trying to murder us all!" And she turned and sprinted toward the exit. The guards caught her and she lashed out at them.  
"Sedate her!" Janet cried to a nurse who was doing something with a needle and the sedatives, "Twenty cc's!" The nurse hurried to comply as the guards drug the Major toward another one of the restraint beds. In a minute she was as silent as her teammates.  
"Doctor?" Hammond inquired.  
"There's naquida in her blood" Janet replied, "It's possible she's contracted the same virus as the Colonel and Teal'c"  
"I want to know how they got this virus" Hammond said. Janet didn't have anything to say.  
"The moisture" Daniel suddenly suggested, "They all reported that Bart had been wet when he touched them. He was acting the same way they are. He was convinced we were there to kill him and he attacked Sam. The house was all boarded up and dark, like he'd been hiding from someone"  
"I just thought he was paranoid delusional" Jackie commented.  
"He was" Daniel said, "And so are they" They all turned to look at the three sedated forms, lying in beds while some kind of virus ate away at their sanity. 


	5. Answers

Exposed This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Stargate SG-1 no mine......no money, no sue, please?  
  
Daniel knocked on the door. Nobody responded so he just turned the handle and walked in.  
All of the rooms were pretty standard, but somehow this one rang of Jack. It was the one he most often utilized when staying on base. His Gameboy was lying on the table and one of his uniform jackets was thrown over the back of a chair.  
Jackie was sitting on the edge of the bed. Daniel closed the door behind him.  
"How you doin?" He asked quietly. She was staring at the floor. He'd never seen her so quiet as she had been in the last few days. She barely spoke, she hardly ate. It hurt him to see her in so much pain.  
"This kind of stuff happens to you guys all the time, right?" she looked up at him, a hopeful look in her eyes and a nervous smile on her lips, "I mean, this is the kind of stuff that happens right? I've read your mission reports. There are close calls. Really close calls. But you guys always think of something. It always works out. So it'll be fine. He'll be fine" She swallowed, "Won't he?"  
"Jackie..." How was he going to tell her this? Yes, so far, they'd been miraculously lucky. Their record made him believe that there was some kind of God up there, watching out for them. A real God, that loved and cared about them. But that didn't mean that this time it wouldn't be different. That this time, it was the end. That this time, their friends, her brother, might die.  
But he didn't have to say anything. She started taking short little breaths and her jaw was trembling.  
"He has to...he has to be fine. God, Daniel. I...what...he can't leave me." Tears were in her eyes and he could tell she was trying not to let them fall. It was a losing battle.  
"What would I do? What would I do? He's...he's always been there. He's always taken care of me, and I just don't think....oh my god" Now she really started to cry, "I can't do this without him! What would I do? What would happen to me?" Daniel quickly knelt in front of her and grabbed her shoulders.  
"I would never let anything bad happen to you, Jackie" he told her vehemently, "I will always make sure you are taken care of." The tears stopped and she took a couple of breaths to steady herself before she looked up at him. He used his thumb to brush a tear off her cheek while she gazed steadily into his eyes.  
"Did you mean it?" she asked softly. He didn't have to ask what she was talking about.  
"Yes" he answered surely. She closed her eyes and lifted her hand to cover his, still brushing her cheek. He leaned toward her and she leaned toward him, so that their foreheads were resting against each other. He breathed in her scent, so unique. She smelled like musky honey and lavender. He raised his other hand to the nape of her neck and guided her lips up to his. This kiss was different than had been their first, sitting in his lab. That kiss had been desperate, raging, frantic, each one of them trying to get as much as they could. This kiss was slow, romantic, seeking and giving at the same time. Jackie slowly slid off the bed until she was on her knees too, her hands splayed across his chest while he wrapped his fingers in the roots of her soft hair. She tilted her head and he sucked in the sweetness of her lush lips, just tasting her.  
Soon they ran out of air and had to break. She pulled away slowly and only far enough to look up into his eyes. The soft yellow light from the small lamp glinted in the green of her eyes, giving them a magical glow.  
"Danny..."  
"Shhhh" He didn't want words to ruin this moment. There was nothing to say anyway. He had voiced his love, but he didn't need her to. She had told him with her kisses, with her looks.  
They stayed there for a few moments, in each other's embrace, until Daniel's knees started to get sore from his own weight. He got to his feet, pulling her with him.  
"You should get something to eat" he said lightly, knowing she probably hadn't even thought of going down to the cafeteria all day.  
"Come on, I'll go with you" She blinked a couple of times and looked around the room. She'd retreated there to be closer to her brother, but she didn't feel the need for that reassurance now. Now, she had a different kind of support.  
Before they could leave though, the door opened and one of the guards from the lab that Jack, Teal'c and Sam had been moved to stuck his head in.  
  
"Sorry to bother you, sir," he said, "But they need you in the lab" Daniel looked down at Jackie and saw the hope and the anxiousness in her eyes. He led her down to the lab where they joined the General and Janet.  
"They're awake" Janet nodded through the glass down at the three beds in the room. All three patients were thrashing around in their beds, screaming at the nurses ignoring them to be released.  
"You'll never get away with it!" Jack yelled.  
"Murderers!" Sam added.  
"Sho'va!" Teal'c yelled menacingly. Jackie backed away from the glass and into Daniel who put a hand on her shoulder.  
"Doctor, tell me you've got something" Hammond pleaded. Janet looked remorseful.  
"I'm sorry" she said directly to Jackie, and then turned to the General, "Everything I try...as soon as one cluster dies, another cluster moves into the empty space. There's nothing I can give them that would make enough head way to do anything" Jackie shuddered in Daniel's arms. They all looked down at their friends, who continued to rant.  
"What will happen to them?" Jackie asked.  
"If the pathogens continue to increase at the rate they are" Janet paused, "I'd say they have a week. Maybe ten days" Everybody was silent.  
"How could this have happened?" General Hammond muttered quietly. He looked at Jackie with a painful expression. She, however, was not sharing it. Instead she was gazing intently down at her raving brother with an expression the General had come to recognize as one that Daniel had right before he thought of something brilliant.  
"Cursed to destroy themselves, the bearer of the snakes" she said quietly. Fraser and Hammond furled their brows.  
"What?" The General asked.  
"Cursed to destroy themselves, the bearer of snakes" Jackie repeated, this time more strongly. A light went on in Daniel's head.  
"Of course" he said, "Of course"  
"Doctor, what is she talking about?" Hammond asked. Daniel disengaged himself from Jack's sister and walked toward the glass before he turned back to the General.  
"Sir, what if the Ferlings somehow devised a virus that increased the level of the goa'uld's already inherent paranoia?" Daniel said, sounding excited that they may have found a cause, at the very least.  
"They become more and more paranoid until they destroy each other" Hammond expounded.  
"Yes." Jackie agreed.  
"If the virus was meant for the goa'uld why has it attacked them?" Janet asked.  
"You said it yourself" Daniel told her, "Naquida. It detects the presence of a goa'uld through the naquida in their blood. They've all carried symbiots at some point in time"  
"You're suggesting that this virus was contained within the jar. None of them handled the jar, how did they get it?" Hammond asked.  
"Carright" Jackie said, "They said he was wet. He must've opened the jar, contracted the virus, and passed it to them when he attacked Sam"  
"Then how did he get it?" Janet raised the question, "It attaches to naquida in the blood stream, why would it have attacked him?"  
"Maybe it didn't" Daniel suggested, "Maybe it just built up in him until it started to affect him too. Until the levels were so high he could pass it through a tactile contact"  
"Doctor?"  
"It's possible, sir" Janet answered the General.  
"That means the jar is the key" Jackie said, "Maybe there's some kind antidote hidden in all those engravings" There was a hopeful glint in her eyes.  
"If there is, I'd love to have it" Janet said.  
  
Jackie and Daniel flew down to his office and started pouring over the photos from the jar. Five days passed without them finding a single thing. Meanwhile, Jack, Teal'c and Sam continued to worsen. On the sixth day Janet had them sedated, and ordered that they remain sedated for their own safety. They had all gouged their wrists and ankles, and bruised their shoulders with their thrashing. They refused to eat and Jack had even bitten one of the orderlies that had tried to feed him.  
It was late at night and neither Daniel nor Jackie had left his office for almost twenty four hours. Janet had ordered food taken down to them but neither had done more than nibble at it.  
Daniel threw his pencil at the desk. It bounced and fell to the floor.  
"There's nothing here!" he cried, rubbing his face in frustration.  
"I know" Jackie agreed, staring, unseeing, at the notes she'd been stringing together, trying to break a code that just wasn't there, "It's just gibberish. Just pretty little symbols to throw us all off" Daniel let defeat wash over him. Jackie just continued to stare at the table.  
"They're going to die" 


	6. By the Skin of Our Teeth

Exposed This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.  
  
To borrow a phrase: Stargate SG-1 no mine......no money, no sue, please?  
  
The lab was empty of all personnel. The three sedated members of SG-1 didn't require constant supervision anymore, and the midnight shift was a skeleton crew as it was.  
Jackie was in her pajamas. She looked across at Sam and Teal'c, their chests rising and falling with their steady breathing. A feeling of severe despair had entered her chest and was lying in her heart, heavier than any stone could ever weigh. She thought back on all that had happened in the recent months, how absurd so much of it was. A car crash, aliens, cryogenic freezing, a secret facility with the power to send people to other planets. It was like some kind of movie, and she felt her part in it only lent to its incredibility.  
But her brother's ashen face was not fake. The tubes in his arms keeping him almost comatose were not props for some movie. It was all real, as difficult as it was for her to accept it. It was all real and he was going to die.  
"Jack..." Jackie could only shake her head. The words wouldn't come. What was she supposed to say? Goodbye? She couldn't do that. She wouldn't do that.  
"You can't leave me behind" she whispered finally, "You promised you wouldn't. I know it was a long time ago. I couldn't have been more than six, but...you did promise. Please...of all of the promises you made, don't break this one. Not this one." She closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and felt something. It was deep within her, and she'd felt it before.  
The stone on her chest started to glow. Jackie drew on its power, more and more, until she felt it pulsing through her body, until there was so much of it she had to let it flow out. It left through her fingertips, her palms, and she forced it down ward, forced it to course through Jack's veins. She could feel the drain on her own energy starting to take its toll and still she pulled more from the stone and poured it out through her hands. But it wasn't doing any good. She didn't know how, but she knew it wasn't helping any. This wasn't what it was meant for. This necklace was for battle, not for curing the sick.  
But she couldn't stop. She had to keep going. She had to try. Jack had to live.  
She collapsed across his chest and when her legs gave way she folded onto the floor. That was how the nurse found her a few hours later. Janet had her moved to a bed in the infirmary and called for Daniel and General Hammond.  
"Will she be all right?" Daniel asked, glancing back at her sleeping face.  
"She'll be fine" Janet assured him, "She just needs a few hours sleep and she'll be back to normal"  
"What was she doing in there, Doctor?" Hammond asked.  
"She must've been trying to use the Ferling device to heal the Colonel" Janet answered, "It draws heavily on the user's own body energy. She must've kept it up too long"  
"And the Colonel?" Janet shook her head dismally.  
"There's no change, sir" she reported, "Whatever she tried, it didn't work. I wish it had"  
"So do I, Doctor, so do I" Hammond agreed.  
Daniel took a seat next to Jackie's bed to wait for her to wake up. She did eventually, and when she opened her eyes she didn't look any worse for the wear.  
"Hey" Daniel said. She closed her eyes again and turned her head the other way.  
"It didn't work" he told her.  
"I know" she replied, "It was only meant to heal battle wounds, not the sick"  
"Janet says you can get up as soon as you eat something" Daniel said, trying to sound optimistic, but Jackie wouldn't partake. It was as if her spirit had been broken. The O'Neill's took untimely deaths badly.  
"I don't think I can eat, Daniel" she told him.  
"You can't just give up" Daniel warned her, "Jack gave up once and it almost cost him his life" He wasn't sure how much Jack had told his sister about the first Abydos mission and the death of his son. Jackie looked back at him, depression replaced by determination.  
"I'm not giving up, Danny" she informed him, "I'm brooding. There's a distinct difference" Daniel had to let his lips curve upwards. Even now she retained her sense of humor. Jack would be so proud. She sighed and pushed herself up into a sitting position.  
"I had to try, Daniel" she said, "I figured it wouldn't work, but I had to try"  
"I know" Daniel responded, "I wish I had something to try"  
"Only makes you feel worse when it doesn't work" Jackie told him.  
"Still. At least I could've said that I'd done something" Jackie nodded. She ate the food Janet had left her and got dressed. There was nothing more she could do for Jack or the others, and they'd already established that there was nothing on the jar that would help them. All they could do was wait to be called down to the lab. So they returned to Jack's quarters to wile away the hours. Jackie grabbed up Jack's Gameboy, a toy she had been instantly enthralled with. Jack had gotten her her own and Daniel could recall entire nights where they would just sit around playing them.  
Daniel was halfway through "The Once and Future King" and Jackie was into her fifth game when they got the call. They walked slowly into the lab together. Janet had cut back on the team's sedatives, so the three of them were conscious, but just barely.  
"Doctor?" Hammond asked quietly, standing over Sam.  
"The pathogens have started building up in their brains, sir" Janet reported, "I think that's probably what caused Dr. Carright's epileptic seizure" Sam looked up at them with a confused look on her face. In her drugged state, she didn't really understand what they were saying.  
"Mur..derers...release me" Teal'c managed to breath. Hammond turned around to look down at the man who had many times over proven himself loyal and brave.  
"We're not trying to kill you, Teal'c" the General told him, "There's nothing we can do" Teal'c didn't respond.  
"Jackie?" Jack rasped.  
"I'm here Jack" Jackie said with a slight smile for him. She held his hand and he gripped it tightly. All of the sudden he bucked in his bed. Sam and Teal'c bucked too, their eyes rolling backwards. Jackie refused to let go of her brother's hand while he shuddered in his bed, beneath his restraints. Janet and her nurses hurried around, checking vitals and trying to do something, anything, to help the most revered team in the SGC.  
Then, just as suddenly as they had started, all three of them stopped. There was no tell tale sound of flat lines, no beeping alarms.  
"Doctor?" Hammond asked. Janet was flitting back and forth between computer screens, going over the readings.  
"It's stopped, General" she reported, "The pathogens are dissipating"  
  
"What's that mean?" Hammond wanted to know.  
"I don't know, sir!" Janet replied.  
"Doctor?" a nurse called Fraser over to Teal'c's bed. There was a fine sheen of what appeared to be sweat on his brow, but it was down his arms and across his chest as well.  
"Gloves" the Doctor ordered. Someone handed her gloves as the rest of the medical team pulled their own on.  
"Sponge this up. Don't get it on your skin. I want it disposed in radioactive bags and sent to Major Carter's lab for analysis" The nurses worked on all three of the patients, soaking up the moisture and securing it in safe bags. It took nearly an hour, Daniel, Jackie and General Hammond just watching and trying to stay out of the way. The last of the guards were leaving with said bags when Sam's eye lids fluttered and she moaned.  
"Sir?" she rasped. Everybody crowded around her bed. She squinted against the harsh lights of the lab as she looked up at them.  
"What happened?" she asked.  
"We aren't sure just yet" Hammond answered, "But you're going to be all right"  
"I had the strangest dream. You were all trying to kill me" she shut her eyes and grimaced. "What's a man got to do to get rid of a headache around here?" "Jack!" Jackie ran to his bedside. Everybody else followed. "I had the strangest dream" Jack said, "And you were there, and you were there, and you were there" "Well, you're back in Kansas now Dorothy" Jackie smiled. Teal'c woke up too and later, when they were all a little more lucid, General Hammond explained everything to them. "So it wasn't all a dream" Sam said. "No, Major" Hammond answered. "How interesting" Jack commented, looking at Daniel. His friend didn't reply, but he didn't avert his gaze either. They were all moved into separate rooms to recuperate. It was the next night when Jackie went to visit her older brother by herself. "Hey, how you feeling?" she asked as she pulled a chair closer to the bed. "Like I just had an alien virus invade my brain" Jack answered, "How are you?" Jackie smiled, but it faded. "You scared me" she admitted, "I thought you were going to leave me for a while there" "I promised you a long time ago that I wouldn't leave you behind" Jack reminded her. "I'm glad you kept that promise" Jackie told him. Jack didn't say anything for a moment. There was something else on his mind. "So" he finally started, "You and Daniel, huh?" Jackie had known it was coming. She just nodded. "Yep" she said and waited for him to start the tirade. He didn't and it surprised her. She looked at him. His face may have changed in 20 years, but his eyes were just as young as they'd always been. And maybe a little wiser. "He's a good man" he told her finally. She nodded. "Yes, he is" she said. There was a quiet minute between the two of them. Soon, they both began to develop smiles. They continued to grow right into grins, and before they knew it, they were both laughing.

Look for the "Jackie" conclusion, "What Dreams May Hold" coming out soon!


End file.
